A Peak Into Haikini: WIP Styles

Sep 25, 2017

In the six months prior to Haikini's debut, it was a lot of brainstorming on what was the best styles & prints to produce, what the entire brand stands for etc... At the end of it all, Haikini's one girl's dream to make beautiful (surf) bikinis that you can take on any summer adventure. Gone are the days of nip slips, buying "push-up" bikini tops that are f**king uncomfortable, unflattering bottoms, bank-breaking "luxury" swimsuits... the list goes on.

The greatest advice I got was to accept that initial ideations rarely actualise, and that's a good thing- always use sand paper! Every bikini is a work of art, and it's incredibly heartening to see how much Haikini's seasters have been loving their swimsuits!

- quote from a true seaster

The initial plan was to produce 4 different designs, each with its unique print. 3 of those styles would be surf bikinis, and the remaining one's for tanning/ resort days when you just want to relax and look good. None of those 4 different designs made it in the end, here's why:

1. The Halter Top Braided Surf Bikini

One year back the swimsuit industry churned out high-neck halter tops at explosive rates, and basically every variation was made- with mesh, lace, crochet... you name it, they have it. There was really no point for me to produce another one, albeit reversible. Thus, the design was shelved and it was back to the drawing board for me.

2. Cross-Back One Piece

I'm not gonna lie, one piece makes my A-B cup look like AA cup. While one-piece swimsuits are making a huge comeback, it's really not in the favour of small-chested girls because it takes back 10 years of puberty. Who wants to look 12 again? Not me, not us! There are ways around it though, Haikini's still going to ride on the one-piece wave but this time I'll definitely design it better.... with padding.

3. Criss Cross Bikini Top with Cheeky Scrunched Bottoms

Cheeky scrunched bottoms were always top of my list. They're flattering for the booty and secure for any type of water-sports. Drawbacks? There are none. I spent way too long debating internally on this vs. the current bottoms but alas the latter wins because it looked much cleaner! Both bottoms are as flattering and as secure anyway.

4. Off-Shoulder / On-Shoulder Tube Top and Cheeky String Bottoms

The second greatest advice that I got, was to produce stuff others liked, not just what I liked. Haikini's ultimate goal is to make more girls fall in love with bikinis, by expanding their bikini-horizons beyond the big retailers like H&M, Cotton On, F21 and innumerable blogshops doing wholesale swimsuits (really cheap, also really bad quality). Granted there are independent swim labels in SG, but their swimsuits are usually accompanied with a hefty price tag.

The above set is a multi-wear cuteness more suited for small-chested girls, but alas it's shelved, because right now Haikini's focused on designing swimsuits that can cater to a wider range of body types.